Climbing Down The Mountain
by matthew11
Summary: Did you ever wonder how some goals you have achieved don't satisfy you, but those moments that helped you achieve your goals, and so you climb down the mountain to relive those times? Ash has now become Pokemon Master, but he feels that it doesn't satisfy him, and so he looks for answers. Amourshipping/Contestshipping/one-sided Advanceshipping fanfic. On temporary hiatus.
1. Paying A Visit

**Hey guys! I'm back for another fanfic. This time, I won't be able to update this story in day's time since 2nd term just started, but I'll try to update it every Saturday. It's not a promise though.**

**I'll temporarily use 3rd person point of view for now since I'm thinking which one's better, 3rd person or 1st person? Anyway. Enjoy reading and don't forget to review! :)**

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><p><strong><em>Climbing Down The Mountain<em>**

**_Chapter 1: Paying A Visit__  
><em>**

Trees covered in snow, cold winds blowing their way, and comforting silence envelope their surroundings, at the peak of Mt. Silver, on the edge of the cliff, sits Ash and Pikachu, reminiscing their past adventures throughout each and every region they have faced. The cold wind doesn't seem to bother them since they've been training on this mountain for over eight years.

Ash had battled many strong trainers, and Pikachu had battled many strong Pokemon, and they've won every single one they engaged in. And now, for Ash, a battle against a Champion is like a mere battle against a Magikarp. Since then, he had been renowned as Pokemon Master by the people around the world, but, upon becoming one, to his realization, it was not enough to satisfy him. He thought that he haven't had enough training, and so he went to this mountain to perfect every moves and combos his Pokemon had. It's been over eight years, and still he felt it wasn't enough.

As he thought very deeply on what could satisfy him, he felt an empty space in his heart. Heart… Love…

He remembered the time when his childhood friend admitted her feelings for him before he could board the plane to his home region. He turned his back, until…

"I-I-I love you!"

As he heard those words, he froze on his spot, turned back around, and saw her scarlet cheeks and tears that formed on her blue orbs started streaming down her beautiful face like raging waterfalls. It took him thirty seconds to process every word she had blurted out and the expression she had given. When his mind was still processing, he was surprised as she hugged him suddenly. He couldn't return those words, but he was able to return the hug.

He laughed at his denseness then. He didn't know the meaning of 'love'. No, not the love for his Pokemon; the love that is shared between a man and a woman. He guessed that his heart and mind was into Pokemon and adventures. The thought of having a girlfriend didn't cross his mind as his goal was his first priority. He's one now, and now what? Where does he go from here? He can't keep training hard all the time. Eventually, one will come and take his title when he is not in this world anymore. He needs someone; someone who would take care of him and him to take care of, someone who would be with him for life, someone who would cook meals for him since his stomach is that of the universe, someone… someone who would love him as much as he loves her.

As he thought of these things, his mind shifted to his childhood friend, Serena. He thought of her honey-blonde hair tied in a low pony tail flowing naturally in the air, her blue orbs that seem to change his world as he look at them, her slender waist any girl could wish to have. She was… perfect. He felt regret as he remembered he said to her that, until then, he would have to satisfy his goal. He hadn't heard any news about her after his departure from Kalos. He assumed that she forgot about him. That thought alone already felt like a Hyper Beam hit his heart. He also assumed that she now has a boyfriend. That, he felt his heart is being guillotined.

How he regret not having to reciprocate her feelings back then. Sure, not understanding a girl's feelings for him since his mind is set to his goal is understandable, but not returning her feelings, that's a different story to tell.

How he wished to relive that moment; the moment when she confessed to him, and that he would say he felt the same way. But, to relive that time, he would have to be with her, and she currently resides in her home region. A light bulb appeared above his head, signifying that an idea crossed his mind.

Pikachu sensed this, and hopped on his trainer's shoulder as he stood up. Ash unclipped a Pokeball from his pocket and threw it in the air and came out his strongest Pokemon in his roster, Charizard.

The dragon-like Pokemon roared loudly and fiercely and the ground shook beneath them. Ash hopped on his Pokemon, and commanded,

"Charizard, take me to Kalos. I have an 'appointment' there waiting for me."

Charizard started to flap his wings and flew high in the sky. Their destination? Kalos.

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><p>Fresh and warm breeze coming their way, the atmosphere that seems to void of sorrow, at the foot of Pomace Mountain, near the flower fields sits Serena and her new partner, Mawile. She was reminiscing her past adventures with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie; how they stood up to challenges, how they argued and strengthen their bonds afterwards, how she cheered for Ash in his gym battles, how she admired Ash's determination, and how Ash's trade mark quote "Never give up until the end!" helped her achieve her dream of becoming Kalos Queen.<p>

Serena took the title of Kalos Queen from Aria two years ago. Since then, the news reporters started to annoy her, and so she searched for a place that is unknown to any of them to get some time alone, and she knew exactly where to go. She couldn't go to her hometown since they knew she lived there.

Mawile was found by her in a house near Pomace Mountain where its trainer, Maple, lived back then. Serena knew it's been eight years since she's been here, and when she saw Mawile's expression, she knew that its trainer had passed away. She asked Mawile if she can stay in the late Maple's house for a while, which it agreed to since its been trustworthy to Serena after she caught it from falling from Team Rocket's balloon during the night when she had enough of arranging flowers. Not only did it agreed to Serena, it went and took out its Pokeball from the drawer as well as the key stone Maple held for a long time, and came back and handed the two items over to her, signifying it wants Serena to become its new trainer. She didn't expect for Mawile to decide it wants her to become its trainer since she only wanted a quiet place to stay for a while, but nonetheless, she accepted.

They went to the nearby flower fields for a relaxing and fresh breeze to surround them. Serena only realized now how beautiful the flowers dance with the wind, and how Maple tried to protect this field from dying or from being destroyed by outsiders. How she wished for Ash being here. It was really romantic. She imagined herself, sitting beside him, her head resting on his shoulder, watching the flowers dance at the beautiful garden that is in front of them.

Throughout her journey, she didn't have the courage to tell Ash her feelings for him. That is because she was afraid of him not having to feel the same way as she does. She already knew from the moment she talked to him personally in Santalune City, that he was as dense as planet Venus. Not only that, he didn't remember her at first sight, but that didn't pull away her love for him. She knew she needed to tell her feelings for him before he goes back to his home region.

"I-I-I love you!"

She said to Ash at the airport. She couldn't resist the urge to cry her heart out since the intense feeling from the thought of Ash departing from Kalos was too strong for her. She wanted him to stay, but that would mean she would hinder his goal to become a Pokemon Master. It seemed though as confessing her feelings to him wasn't enough to satisfy her. She knew she would have to receive a response from him. But she couldn't wait, as she went ahead and bear-hugged Ash. She wasn't surprised as she felt his arms wrap around her waist as her mind was still filled with thoughts of Ash leaving.

Her heart started beat from dread as he told her that he wants to satisfy his goal first, but felt relieved as he added that he will visit her again in the near future, trying to not make her feel sad. Until then, she would continue on to become Kalos Queen to impress him. But since then, he is yet to visit her. She thought that he forgot about her. That thought alone made a large crack in her heart. She also thought that he already has a girlfriend. That, she felt that she doesn't have a heart anymore.

How she regret not having to tell him earlier. She could've told him about her feelings so that he could develop the same feelings over time. But it's too late. And now, she is only waiting for him to visit her once more, and maybe tell her that he loves her.

"Did you know, Mawile, that I have feelings for Ash? You know, the boy with the red hat and Pikachu back then?" She asked Mawile, attempting to lighten the weight in her heart.

"Maw?" "_Huh? When?_" Mawile asked in surprise.

"I had feelings for him since the incident back in the summer camp in Kanto. I was lost in the forest, and I was scared by a Nyoromo back then and I tripped, hurting my knee. He then appeared from the bushes, saw me, and tied a handkerchief on my wound. He lifted me up too hard, resulting in a hug-like state. I was surprised back then from the state we were in. And then he walked me out of the forest. Since then, he is the nicest boy I've ever met. I even made his saying my trade mark quote." Serena said. This was the second time she talked about how she had feelings for Ash. The first was with Fennekin.

"Mawile wile!" "_That's so cute!_" Mawile said.

"I know, right? Even I am surprised how cute my experience was. But I don't know if he feels the same way as I do. I really hope he does though." Serena said.

"Wile mawile mawile." "_I also hope he does. You two do make a cute couple after all._" Mawile said, complimenting they would look cute together.

"Hehe, thanks Mawile." Serena said, blushing lightly at the comment.

She then realizes how time flows by quickly as she saw the sun began to set. She stands up and said,

"Say, why don't we go back to your house? It's getting late, and I'd like you to try my Pokepuffs." Serena said.

"Mawile." "_I would love that._" Mawile said.


	2. Grace

**Hey guys! Here's chapter 2. I know I said in the last chapter I would update this fic on Saturdays. Fortunately, I realized I don't have any school in Wednesdays, so expect some that day :). I'm also sorry if this chapter is shorter than the last, but I'll edit it if I have any ideas. Anyways, enjoy reading and don't forget to review :)**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2: Grace<strong>_

The wind, passing through his ears. Ash can't hear anything. Pikachu was on his shoulders holding for dear life. Charizard has been flying for over 5 hours without stop. Ash was glad that Charizard's endurance have improved a lot from their training in Mt. Silver.

They are flying through the clouds. They can't see anything below them, until they saw a flash of light. Ash got curious as to what the light is, and so he commanded,

"Charizard, you saw the flash of light? Go down there."

The dragon-like Pokemon lowered its altitude, and they saw land below them. It seems they've arrived in Kalos. They didn't even know they've arrived 1 hour ago because of the clouds cutting there visions.

When they are nearing the ground, the flash of light seems to get brighter every meter they get closer.

They saw a small village. Ash wondered what the flashes of light were.

When the image got clearer, they saw a group of news reporters gathered in front of a house. Ash was about command Charizard to go up again to avoid seeing by them since he is quite popular the moment he became Pokemon Master, until…

"I don't know where she is!"

Ash heard a familiar voice, and so he went near in front of the house, maintaining there stealth. He saw Grace, standing, talking to the news reporters. What? She doesn't know where she is? Is she refering to Serena? Wait, is this her hometown?

Ash went in front of the news reporters with Charizard blocking the reporters' views, and greeted Grace with a warm smile.

"Hi Grace! Long time no see."

"Oh, why hello Ash. I think this is not the perfect place to talk. Let's get inside." Grace insisted.

"I agree." Ash said

They went inside Grace's house, but before Charizard went in, it unleashed a loud roar to the reporters, resulting them taking several steps back from fear of getting Flamethrowered. The door shut closed. Ash returned his powerhouse to its Pokeball.

"So, this is…" Ash said.

"Vaniville Town." Grace completed his sentence. He didn't know the name of the hometown Serena lives in.

"You want some snacks? Juice?" Grace asked.

"Oh, no, I'm good." Ash said. He sat on a nearby couch. Grace sat too, facing him. Pikachu then sat beside him.

"So, what brings you here in Vanivilla Town? I assume you're here to see my daughter." Grace said, teasing Ash. She knew that Serena has a huge crush on him. She is her mother after all, so she has every right to know her secrets. She want to see how Ash would react to those words.

"Y-yeah, that is the case." Ash said, scratching his cheek. "So, is she here?" Ash asked. He wanted to confirm if Grace does not really know where she currently is.

"…Unfortunately, no she's not." Grace said. "She hasn't come home for two years. I'm really worried about her, considering she's really popular now. She might have been…" Grace said, her hands on her head, thinking where she possibly is, and not imagining the worst possible scenerios her daughter might be in.

"She's popular? What happened two years ago?" Ash asked in curiosity.

"She was crowned the new Kalos Queen. I saw her on TV. You didn't know" Grace asked.

"N-no, I don't. After all, Tripokalons are only exclusive here in Kalos. News about it won't go out to other regions." Ash said.

"So, she finally did it." Ash thought.

True." Grace said. Why haven't she come home yet?" Grace thought of many reasons why she hasn't return to her hometown. She thought of Serena not wanting to practice Rhyhorn racing. She thought she was a horrible mother, forcing her daughter to do something she doesn't want to do. She felt regret making her do so for the past years before she went to her journey.

"I think it has something to do with her career." Ash said. "I've been there; news reporters everywhere, not wanting to distance themselves from me. They're really annoying if you become a celebrity." He added.

"So you're…" Grace said.

"A Pokemon Master." Ash completed her sentence.

"Wow! I know it's a bit late, but congratulations!" Grace said with a smile.

"Hehe, thanks." Ash said, smiling back.

Ash looked to his surroundings. He saw a line of picture frames on a drawer. He walked up and looked at it. It portrayed a young Serena and her mother, together with a Rhyhorn. There's more to its side. It seems like they're arranged accoring to Serena's age, from a younger Serena to the present. He gently touched the picture frame, wondering where she could be. He just realized, upon becoming known around the world, one would want to be isolated from the rest of the people. That was another reason he came to Mt. Silver. He also wondered how May and Dawn were doing since he knew their dream is to become Top coordinators. They would have to deal with some disturbance. The name May made his heart crumble from dread, and so he wiped that thought off of his mind.

Since he doesn't have any clue where Serena is, he might as well look for some clues, and so he said,

"I'm going to Lumious City to look for clues. I'll be sure to find her once I get enough clues." Ash said walking up to the door. Pikachu followed him and hopped on his shoulders.

"Oh, thank you so much, Ash. Just be careful out there." Grace said.

"Why? Is there something I should look out for?" Ash asked.

"Oh, forget what I said. It's just some silly rumors I've heard. Take care of yourself." Grace said.

"Oh, ok. Bye Grace." Ash said, walking out the house, waving at her.

As he was walking towards the town's exit, he wondered about what Grace had mentioned to him. 'Be careful out there.' What would be out there, anyway? If it's threat, it'll be a walk in a park for him.

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><p>Somewhere in Lumious City, sitting on a table in a café, a girl wearing a green bandana, an orange sleeveless shirt and black spandex was taking a sip on her coffee. It made her squeal in delight.<p>

"This is the best coffee I've ever tasted!" She said, taking another sip, and eventually drinking it whole. The intense heat of the coffee didn't bother her though. She wiped some coffee on her mouth, put the money on the table, and went out the café.

"Now, where is the stadium?" She asked herself, even though she already knew where it was. She walked towards its location. As she was walking on the sidewalk, she saw a girl with a honey blonde hair, wearing a black tank top with a white collar, a red skirt, black running shoes and black knee socks, and a Gardevoir beside her walk in the opposite sidewalk. She heard of her somewhere, but she can't tell where, though she knew her name. She began walking towards her, and said;

"Hi! You're Serena, aren't you?" She said.

Gardevoir began to release its Psychic energy. The girl gasped in fright, but the Pokemon was stopped by Serena.

"No, don't. It's ok." She said. "You look familiar. What's your name?" She turned and asked the girl. Serena thought she have seen this girl somewhere, but, like the girl, she can't tell where.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm May. Nice to meet you." May said with a smile. She stretched an arm, signifying a handshake. But before she accept the gesture, she said,

"You're May?! I've seen you in magazines! You're a Top Coordinator!" Serena said in surprise, then accepted the gesture.

"Hehe. I get that a lot." May said, scratching the back of her head.

"I know I've heard of you before. I just can't tell where…" May said, thinking.

"Oh. Tripokalons are only exclusive here in Kalos, so news wouldn't really go out to other regions. Also, if you've heard me, I think you've heard me as the Kalos Queen." Serena said.

"Oh, Tripokalons. They're like contests, but no battles, right?" May asked.

"That's right." Serena said with a smile.

May's Holocaster began to vibrate, indicating that she's late for her contest.

"Oops. I'm late for my contest. I gotta go. See you later!" May said, sprinting towards the stadium.

"You too!" Serena said, returning to her duty.

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><p><strong>What lies await for our hero? May came into the picture, now will this appearance affect Ash and Serena? Also, wondering why Serena suddenly is in Lumious City? Find out in the next chapter! Don't forget to review :)<strong>


	3. The Fateful Encounter

**Hey guys! I'm back for another chapter! You know what the chapter title says right? Read it if you want to find out. So, enjoy reading and don't forget to review! :)**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 3: The Fateful<strong> **Encounter**_

In the late Maple's house, in the living room, on the couch sits Serena, brushing her Braixen's fur. The fox-like Pokemon can't get enough of the feeling of getting its fur brushed. It definitely likes it, considering it likes being neat like its trainer. Mawile is outside, watering the flowers that Maple took care of for a long time. It inherited her love for nature. It loved nature just as much, if not more than Maple loved it for its beauty. Like Maple always said, 'the beauty of nature indeed can't be compared to the aesthetics of art'.

Braixen then heard a growling sound coming from near it. It looked to its surroundings in alert. It then heard it again, this time louder. It looked to its trainer with an expression that asks the trainer where the sound is coming from. It then saw Serena covering her red face with her hand and her tummy with the other. It sighed in relief that it's only Serena getting hungry. Then it began laughing out loud from hearing, for the first time, Serena's tummy asking for food.

"H-hey! Stop laughing, Braixen. I'm just hungry, that's all." Serena said, not wanting to get embarrassed. It was the first time in many years since Ash's growling stomach she heard her tummy growl like that.

"Brai-braixen-xen-en!" "_Ok-ok, I'll stop… Haha!" _Braixen tried to resist its urge to laugh.

"Anyway, I'm gonna get some food. I'll be right back." Serena said, proceeding to the kitchen.

She went in front of the refrigerator and opened it. It seems like her tummy growled louder as she saw there was no food inside. She sighed an closed the refrigerator. She went back to the living room.

"I'll be gone for an hour, Braixen. It seems like we have no food. I can cook some. That is if I have the ingredients. You stay here and take care of the house, ok?" Serena said, taking a Pokeball from her back.

Serena went outside to inform Mawile that she would be gone for a while.

"Mawile wile" "_What are you going to do there?" _Mawile said.

"I'll get some food for us. It seems like we ran out of food." Serena said.

"Come out, Gardevoir!" Serena threw the Pokeball in the air and came out the white bipedal Pokemon.

"Gardevoir?" It said.

"Take me to Lumious City, Gardevoir." Serena commanded. "Take care of the house for me, Mawile." Serena said to Mawile.

"Mawile mawile." _"All right. Take care." _Mawile said.

"Gardevoir, Teleport." Serena commanded. Both Serena and Gardevoir disappeared in thin air.

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><p>*Swish*<p>

Serena and Gardevoir appeared out of nowhere in Lumious City. As soon as they arrived, the people spotted her, and begin rushing towards her.

"Oh my Arceus! It's the Kalos Queen!" A fangirl shouted.

"Can I have an autograph?!" Another fangirl said.

"Oh please me too! I'm your biggest fan!" Another fangirl said. The large crowd of fans then began surrounding the honey-blonde girl.

"Gardevoir garde!" "_I will not let you disturb m'lady!" _Gardevoir said, preparing to use Hypnosis.

"Gardevoir, no. It's ok. It's not like they're reporters anyway. I just don't want to get bombarded with tons of questions." Serena said, making Gardevoir withdraw its Psychic powers.

After much time passed, Serena finally made the people satisfied with her autographs, and continued on with her duty.

When she was walking on the sidewalk with her Gardevoir, she saw a girl with a green bandana, an orange, sleeveless shirt, and black spandex walking on the opposite side of the sidewalk. She then thought that she looks familiar. The girl then saw her, and began walking towards her, and said,

"Hi! You're Serena, aren't you?" She said.

Gardevoir charged up its Psychic powers to unleash Hypnosis. The girl gasped in fright, but the Pokemon was stopped by Serena.

"No, don't. It's ok." She said. "Yes, I am. You look familiar. What's your name?" She turned and asked the girl. Serena thought she had seen this girl somewhere. She just can't tell where.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm May. Nice to meet you." May said with a smile. She stretched an arm, signifying a handshake. But before she accepts the gesture, she said,

"You're May?! I've seen you in magazines! You're a Top Coordinator!" Serena said in surprise, and then accepted the gesture.

"Hehe. I get that a lot." May said, scratching the back of her head.

"I know I've heard of you before. I just can't tell where…" May said, thinking.

"Oh. Tripokalons are only exclusive here in Kalos, so news wouldn't really go out to other regions. Also, if you've heard me, I think you've heard me as the Kalos Queen." Serena said.

"Oh, Tripokalons. They're like contests, but no battles, right?" May asked.

"That's right." Serena said with a smile.

May's Holocaster began to vibrate, indicating that she's late for her contest.

"Oops. I'm late for my contest. I gotta go. See you later!" May said, sprinting towards her destination.

"You too!" Serena said, returning to her duty.

She and Gardevoir went and arrived in front of a big Pokemart.

"Gardevoir, return!" Serena said, returning her Pokemon to its Pokeball and proceeded to enter the mart to buy some food.

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><p>"What does she mean, 'Be careful out there?" Ash asked himself, wondering what Grace had said to him. He is walking, and nearing his destination. Surprisingly, Lumious City is only an hour away. Ash didn't bother calling out Charizard. It needed some rest after a long journey to Kalos, so he decided to walk instead. It felt nostalgic for Ash since the last time he walked for a million miles with his traveling companions back then, only now he's alone with his starter Pokemon.<p>

"Pika pi?" _"You alright, Ash?" _Pikachu said on his shoulders. It began to feel concerned with its trainer since they went their way to their destination.

"Oh, it's nothing, Pikachu, don't worry about it." Ash said.

After a long walk, they are finally in Lumious City.

"Lumious… It's been a long time since we've been here, right buddy?" Ash said.

"Pika!" _"Yeah!"_ Pikachi said.

"Lumious… Clemont. Oh I've forgot that he lives here! Let's go to the gym! Maybe he's in there!" Ash said, running towards their next destination. Pikachu is holding on his shoulders for dear life yet again.

As he was running, he saw a familiar girl, running the opposite direction in the opposite sidewalk. The image was too blurry to distinguish since he was running really fast. She reminded him of May. He then erased the name May from his mind once more and continued running.

He arrived in front of Prism Tower. He went inside, and to the elevator. He pressed the button and began ascending.

When the elevator opened, he went in front of the door to the gym. It felt nostalgic for Ash since he had a horrible experience with this door. It felt like he would relive that moment as he stand in front of it.

Luckily, there was no voice, asking him if he has 4 badges. The door opened, and Ash saw Clemont, battling a trainer. It seems Clemont is battling with his ace, Heliolisk, while the trainer is battling with his Golem. Ash went to the sidelines to watch the exciting battle. It seems that he went there unnoticed.

"Heliolisk! Jump and use Thunderbolt!" Clemont commanded.

Heliolisk jumped high in the air and began gathering all its electricity to unleash a strong current of electricity onto the rock Pokemon.

"Golem! Use Rock Throw! Send it crashing to the ground!" The challenger commanded.

On the hand of the Golem appeared a small boulder and threw it to Heliolisk.

"Now shoot Thunderbolt upwards!" Clemont commanded.

Heliolisk then unleashed Thunderbolt up to the ceiling, causing Heliolisk to descend to the ground in a fast pace. The small boulder that was thrown to Heliolisk missed.

"Now use Bulldoze!" Clemont said

The yellow lizard-like Pokemon stomped the ground really hard as it landed. It created a big shock wave and hit the Golem hard. It was more than enough to knock it out since it was super effective.

"No! Golem!" The trainer shouted.

"Golem is unable to battle. The victory goes to Heliolisk. The winner is Clemont." Clembot said as the referee.

"Return." Both trainers called in their Pokemon to their respective Pokeballs.

"It seems that I need to have some more training. I'll be sure to get that badge. Just you wait!" The trainer said, walking out of the gym.

"I'll be looking forward to it!" Clemont said.

"You didn't change at all, Clemont." Ash said, walking from the sidelines towards Clemont, which caused the latter to look in surprise.

"Ash! It's been a long time! And how did you get there?" Clemont said.

"Haha! Didn't I tell you I'm a Psychic?" Ash joked.

"Hehe. If you're here to challenge me, I wouldn't win against you. You are the Pokemon Master after all." Clemont said, praising him.

"So news about me reached here too eh?" Ash said. "Anyway, I'm not here to challenge you to a Pokemon battle. I'm here to ask you something." He added.

"Sure. What is it you want to know?" Clemont said.

"Do you know where Serena is?" Ash said.

"Serena? All I heard about her is that she became Kalos Queen two years ago. And I heard that she disappeared after becoming one. In short, I don't know." Clemont said.

"Oh. Where could she be?" Ash said to himself.

"Why are you looking for her?" Clemont said, with a sly smile on his face.

"I-I was just want to know if she's doing fine." Ash said lamely.

"Haha! Ok I won't ask again if it makes you uncomfortable." Clemont said.

The two trainers then walked out if the gym. They shared their experience throughout the past years after their journey together; Ash's experience and Clemont's new strategies for Pokemon battles. Clemont also said that his inventions stopped exploding, indicating that his inventing skills are improving. They are currently walking on the sidewalk. They have no destination whatsoever. They just want to talk, like they used to when they were on their journey.

"Really? You might become a VIP someday, considering you invent things." Ash said.

"That's too much." Clemont said.

"By the way, where is Bonnie?" Ash said, curious as to where Bonnie is, considering that she wasn' with her brother in the gym.

"Oh. She's on her journey now. She went on her journey a year ago." Clemont said.

"Really? What's her starter Pokemon? Ash said?

"Fennekin. She said that she couldn't choose between Froakie, Chespin, and Fennekin since they were all cute. She went with Fennekin because, according to her, that Pokemon reminded her about Serena." Clemont said.

"Oh, I see." Ash said.

"Also to add; She wants to become a coordinator." Clemont added.

Ash then flinched from the word 'coordinator'. Ash then frowned from the word.

"You ok, Ash?" Clemont said.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." Ash said.

They were about to turn to right, until somebody came from that direction and bumped onto Ash. She was holding what it seems to be half of a ribbon.

"'I'm sorry! I wasn't looki-" She said, bowing apologetically, until she saw Ash's face. They both froze on their spot as they saw each other's face.

"Ash?..." The girl said, her eyes glassy.

"May?..." Ash said, his heart beating from dread.

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><p><strong>Ohh. It seems like they finally met each other after many years. What will happen between this two trainers? But first, what happened to them when they were in their journey together? Find out next chapter! Stay tuned and don't forget to review! :)<strong>


	4. Broken Trust

**Hey guys! I'm back! This is a filler chapter, so you could have a really good impression on why Ash became bitter towards May. I've spent a whole day creating this chapter, so I hope my efforts won't be in vain :) Enjoy reading.**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 4: Broken Trust<strong>_

It all started the moment he met her. He was with Professor Birch, searching for Pikachu, who ran away in confusion since he had an electric overload. When he met her along the way, he felt that his world was going to change.

After rescuing his best buddy from the annoying Team Rocket, he was sleeping along side Pikachu, and muttered a few things in his sleep and Pikachu awakens. The mouse Pokémon then wakes him up, causing both to be happy that they're both okay. The boy was relieved that his Pokemon was ok. He thought he was going to lose him. Unbeknownst to him, the girl he met was watching the scene from the door slightly opened. She was angry at first when the mouse Pokemon elecrocuted her bike, but that faded away as she watched the heart-warming scene between Ash and Pikachu. This girl, too, felt that by meeting him, she would have a great time with him.

The girl, May, was outside Birch's lab, releasing her starter Pokemon from its Pokeball, Torchic. Ash came out, with Pikachu on his shoulder. May greets Ash, and Pikachu hopped off his shoulders to play with the small fir chick Pokemon. They watched as their Pokemon play around the field. May then makes a few remarks about going alone. Then she purposely says she would have, but Pikachu festroyed her bike while rescuing him. May asks Ash if she could come along with him. He was stunned at the moment, and then agreed to.

They've been traveling for quite a while. They've learned so much from each other. The one thing that they most likely have in common is that they have big appetite. As they were talking inside the Pokemon Center, the two of them shyly looked away from each other, feeling there faces heat up on the sound of their stomach asking for food. This was unusual for Ash. He didn't feel embarrassed of his stomach growling when he was on his journey with Misty and Brock.

A few days later, when Ash was eager to ask some few trainers about the Petalburg gym leader, May desperately grab his hand and asks him if they could go eat instead, and if he could show her around the Pokémon Center so he wouldn't find out her dad is the Gym Leader. She didn't want him to treat her differently upon knowing the truth.

When they arrived in Petalburg City, Ash immediately went and challenged its gym leader. May wasn't with him then, and so he went on his own. It was then he felt that he wasn't motivated to challenge the gym leader anymore. Why is that? The he thought of May. What does she have to do with this? He didn't want to blame her for that silly problem, and so he wipe that thought away from his mind.

Ash was about to battle a nerdy-looking boy who claimed that he was the gym leader. Then, May came in with two other people. She then asks the boy what he was doing acting as the gym leader. It turns out that the boy was her younger brother, Max. Ash then knew that Max was too young to even be a trainer. When he learned that May and Max's father, Norman, was the real gym leader, Ash was surprised, and looked at May, shyly looking away, and gave a glare to her younger brother.

While having lunch, Norman decided to temporarily change the rules of the gym for him. And since it wasn't official, Ash didn't mind at all as he was just looking forward to his first Pokemon battle in Hoenn.

When the battle was over, resulting in Ash's lost, the wall suddenly exploded, and Team Rocket stole May's Torchic. This caused her to fall on her knees in despair. Upon seeing her, Ash reassures her that he will get her Pokemon back, no matter what. After hearing his statement, she felt her cheeks heat up a little. It was the first time he showed determination in front of her, and felt like that kind of determination is something that is impossible to break.

After they have rescued her Torchic, Ash and May was about to resume their journey, until they stopped on their tracks after hearing a bone-breaking statement from May's annoying younger brother; Max said that he wants to travel with them. The two trainers looked at each other. They wanted to travel alone, but they didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him he can't go with them, and so they accepted.

Along the way, they met Brock, Ash's long-time traveling companion. It was perfect-timing that Brock was here. On their way to wherever they are heading, he secretly told him stories about how he met her and what happened from there. He accidentally told him that he feels strange around May. Brock had a pretty good idea of what he felt, and he teased him about it, saying he had grown into a fine young man, which Ash let it slide since he asked Brock to help him with it.

As they were traveling, thanks to Brock's lectures, Ash and May were closer than ever. May felt like he might be the one to shape her future. He continuously taught her how to be a better trainer. And even though they were like in a student-teacher relationship, May loved him. Her love for him slowly grew as time passes. Though he doesn't even know the word yet, Ash loved her. He loved her as much as, if not more than he loved his Pokemon. He wasn't sure about what he was feeling then. He always felt his chest tighten whenever May was around, whenever she compliments him, whenever she was beside him, although she was always beside him. They have a bond so strong that even the strongest Pokemon with the strongest move wouldn't even leave a scratch on it. It was, until someone had to jump into the picture.

In the city of Slateport, the group was on a beach and May was training her Beautifly for her first contest. She threw Frisbees to her Pokemon, who gently Gusts them back. May gracefully caught the first two but the third one flew over her head. The group then turned to see it fly straight to a green-haired boy who was watching from the boardwalk. He caught the Frisbee easily and twirled it on his finger while stating that May isn't a very good contestant for a Contest. May got mad as the Frisbee is thrown at her feet

The boy jumped down and May angrily introduces herself. The boy introduced himself as Drew, and told her that she needs a lot of practice. May became enraged and lunges at him, but he held up his hand and casually pushes her back.

Ash, Max, and Brock approached and asked what is going on. Drew told May that her Pokémon is second rate and there's no way it can win an official Contest. May was enraged by that insulting statement. She tried to lunge again, but he pushed her back the same way as before. She still tried to run at him, but he easily kept her at bay. Ash, feeling anger rush up to his face, tells him to stop insulting May's Pokémon, but Drew just flips back his hair and laughs. Ash was about to lunge at him, but was stopped by Brock, saying a fight isn't going to bring good to him.

After May and Drew's battle was interupted by Team Rocket stealing the Bluk berries and eventually sent blasting off by Ash's Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Drew's Rosalia's Solar Beam, everyone watched as Torchic rushed towards the Berry. It leaped high into the air and grabbed it. It seemed happy with itself, and then realized it's falling off a cliff. Beautifly saved it with String Shot and Torchic is placed in May's arms. She hugged it and then she turned to Drew, telling him that she can't wait to face him in the Contest, and Drew said he looks forward to it. He added that she surprised him today, seeing her Beautifly used Silver Wind successfully, and he can't wait to see what she can do at the Contest. He recalled Roselia and then heads off, with May watching him go. Seeing her look at him with sparkling eyes, Ash wondered if Drew will have a definite impact on their relationship.

A year has passed, and during that year, Drew became May's version of Gary in the way he treated and spoke to her, criticizing her skills and generally being haughty. As a result, May was immensely irked by his actions, and sometimes even lost her confidence in her abilities. The nature of their relationship gradually changed as time passed by. Drew had complimented May's skills by giving her roses, and she seems to accept them casually, but only as a sign of serious rivalry. At one point, when Drew delivered his third rose, May asked him rather coyly if the rose is for Beautifly again, suspicious as to the true nature of his roses. Drew slightly admits that the roses aren't really for Beautifly. This news warned Ash that he can take May from him, which he does not like to happen in his life time. Ash was wary of him since then, but he was not aware that May's feelings are changing, nor did he even know she had feelings for him.

* * *

><p>When they were in Chrysanthemum Island back in Kanto for May to participate in the contest there. Ash was training Sceptile and commanded it to used Bullet Seed, but only smoke came out of its mouth.<p>

"Poor Sceptile. It must still be feeling the pain of a broken heart." May said.

"Hey, come on! You can do those moves! You have to try harder! Get that stuff out of your mind and do it!" Ash said harshly.

"You're just making it worse, y'know." A voice said. The group then look towards the direction the sound came from. They saw Drew walking towards them.

"You're not thinking about from Sceptile's point of view." Drew said.

"D-Drew!" May said

"Telling your Pokemon to try harder only gives them more stress, and you don't need that, right?" Drew said to Ash, lecturing him while patting Sceptile.

Ash could only grit his teeth from a little anger.

"Uh, hey Drew. Did you send this to me?" May asked, revealing a card which was given to her a few days ago, though there was no name written on it. She assumed that Drew was the one who sent it.

"See, I'd love to be in the contest with you, but mark my words! This time, I'm gonna beat you, get it?" May said.

"Except, I didn't send that." Drew corrected.

"Huh?" May said.

"Come on. It's not my style *flips hair*. You should know that." Drew said.

"We should, huh?" The group said. Pikachu was pointing at Drew for blushing.

"Truthfully, I'm not even going to be in this contest." Drew said.

"Huh? You're not?" May asked.

"I've been in so many contests lately my Pokemon are wiped, so we came to this place for a little break." Drew said.

"But if you didn't send me this, then who did?" May asked, wondering who sent the letter to her.

Later, Drew went his way, and the group was on the beach, watching May train her Munchlax and Combusken. She told Munchlax to use Focus Punch on Combusken. Munchlax charged at Combusken with its hand glowing, but Combusken dodged it by jumping, and Munchlax was about to hit a young girl holding a rose behind Combusken.

"Watch out!" The group said. The girl then notices Munchlax heading her way, and she ducked. Munchlax crashed onto the sand and was now half-buried.

"I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" May asked, walking towards the girl.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure about your Munchlax." The girl said. Ash, Brock, and Max was pulling Munchlax out of the sand, and were successful.

"That Munchlax… I guess we were a little overly psyched." May said.

"That's 'cause you lost in the Wisteria contest and Munchlax wants to make up for it, right?" The girl said.

"H-how did you know about that contest?" May asked.

"I was there! I really wanted to meet you when it was over, but I didn't. I thought you might be feeling bad after you lost. So I left the rose and the card instead." The girl said.

"So… This card came from you?" May asked.

"Yup! And now I've gotten to meet you in person. Oh yeah. I'm Brianna-" The girl introduced herself, handing over the rose she held but was eaten by Muchlax.

"Munchlax, how rude!" May said.

"Hey, I'm glad that Munchlax likes roses too." Brianna said.

"Thanks, but about the card. The confusion started because you forgot to put your name on it." May said, raising her hand with the card.

"Huh?!" Brianna said, taking the card from May to see if it was true.

"Oh! That's awful. I'm sorry." Brianna said, bowing apologetically.

"That's ok. I thought it was from a friend named Drew, and I just asked him about it." May said.

"You did? You mean Mr. Drew's here right now?!" Brianna said, eyes glassy and cheeks red.

"Uh-Mister?" May said, confused.

The two then went where Drew went - to the resort.

"See, there he is." May said as Drew came in sight, shirtless.

"Oh, you're right!" Brianna said, cheeks still red.

"I can introduce you to him." May said, and realized what she said immediately. She doesn't want any contests to get him. What? What did she just thought of? She couldn't mean throwing Ash's trust out of the window.

"That'd be awesome!" Brianna said. Well, there's no getting out of this now.

The walked towards the green-haired boy to introduce Brianna to him.

"Drew!" May said.

"Oh, hey. What's up? Drew said.

"I've got a new friend. Her name's Brianna. She's a big fan of yours who became a coordinator after watching you perform." May said.

"Wow. You did. Hey thank you." Drew said.

"I-t's n-nice… To m-meet you." Brianna said nervously.

"Oh yeah. It was Brianna who sent me that card." May said.

"It was my fault! I didn't write my name on it. I feel like total fool." Brianna said.

"You didn't do anything wrong. May just made another silly mistake." Drew said, insulting her once again.

"There's only one person who would send me something like that, mister rose." May retorted.

"M-mister rose?" Drew said, his felt the red taking over his cheeks, but resisted it.

"Anyway, nice to meet you, Brianna." Drew said, gesturing a hand-shake.

"I-it's nice to meet you too…" Brianna said, accepting the gesture.

"You've done this before, right?" May said, slyly.

"And you talk too much…" Drew said.

"Anyway, good luck in the contest." Drew said, walking away until he is out of sight.

"Wow… He's cute." Brianna said, and her lovestruck facial expression turned into fiery determination.

"So! It's you and me!" Brianna said, turning back to May.

"H-huh?" May said in confusion.

"I'm aiming for you in this contest and I'm gonna win!" Brianna declared.

"But why me?" May asked.

"Look, I've seen every contest you and Drew have entered, get it?! And I know for a fact that you're the only female coordinator Drew has respect for." Brianna said.

"I-I didn't know that." May said, her sweat dropping.

"Duhh. I may be inexperience in having to win a ribbon yet, but someday I'll be a first-class coordinator and Drew will respect me too! And I figured the quickest way to earn his respect is to beat you! So get ready for a fight!" Brianna said.

May was stunned at the sudden burst of determination from Brianna. She knew Drew was popular, but she just met a fangirl in front of her. And declared that she's going to win to earn his respect. That bothered her a little, though she didn't know why. Nonetheless, she wasn't going to allow her to beat her.

The contest started. Ash, Brock, Max, and Drew were on the sidelines cheering May on. Each coordinator went through the appeal rounds, but only a few will manage to get out, and May and Brianna were now standing in front of big TV to see if they did qualify to the next round.

"Alright! Here are the coordinators who qualified for the next round!" The MC said, pointing at the big screen behind her. It showed May and Brianna's image on the screen. Both trainers sighed in relief.

"Watch closely, Drew. You're going to see a win you'll never forget." May said to herself.

"We'll see" Brianna said beside her.

"I'm finally going to get a chance to show Drew I'm a winner." May said.

"Come on, May!" Brianna said.

"Huh?" May said in confusion.

"It seems to me your feelings for Drew go way beyond contests and battles." Brianna said.

"H-Huh? M-me and Drew? He's… just a rival. That's all." May said convincingly.

"Oh yeah! Well I wanna know if you like Drew!" Brianna said.

"L-like him?! To be honest… I didn't really give it that much thought…" Mays said, blushing. It seems the words came out half-way.

"For your information, as soon as I win this contest, I'll tell Drew I love him!" Brianna said.

"That's fine with me expect for the 'as soon as I win this contest' part…" May said.

They went through so many battles; May used Combusken and Brianna used Vibrava. And they faced off in the final round, to which May came out the winner. Both trainers were in the beach, watching the sun set, reflecting upon their contest performances.

"You were great! Really great! I can see why Mr. Drew has total respect for your talent" Brianna said.

"That means a lot to me, Brianna. Thank you." May said.

"Tell you what; when I finally win a ribbon, then I'll tell him how I feel." Brianna declared.

"Hey, you guys!" Max said, with Ash, Brock, and Drew walking along side him towards the two trainers.

"I had a feeling we'de find you two here." Brock said.

"Oh no, May! It's Drew!" Brianna said, hiding behind May shyly.

"You two sure know how to make a great battle" Ash said, scratching his cheeks.

"That was a great win too, May." Max said.

"That makes three ribbons, right?" Brock asked, to which May nods.

"Hey, Drew. I was wondering how you thought about my battle skills since you last saw me." May said.

"To tell the truth, I thought you got lucky with that Mega Kick. If I were you, I'd be grateful." Drew said, flipping his hair.

"Gee, thanks." May said irritatingly.

"Brianna. That's your name, right?" Drew asked as he walked closer to the two girls.

"Uh- Yes sir!" Brianna said.

"You were good. It's obvious that you've raised your Vibrava well. It's hard work making it all the way to Flygon, but you'll do it." Drew said.

"Thanks! I'll work extra hard! Ahhh…" Brianna said, fainting.

"Whoa, Brianna!" May said, catching Brianna from falling.

"He sure knows how to make an impression." Max said.

"Like fingernails on a blackboard…" Brock said.

"Hey, May." Drew said, calling her attention.

"Huh?" May said.

"… Just two more ribbons." Drew said, with a little pause at the beginning.

"Uh… Drew… Just curious. How many do you have?" May said, beginning to blush.

"It's obvious! In your case, I figured you might need someone to remind you." Drew said, walking away.

As he walks off into the distance, May watches him and, little does she know, she is blushing. Ash, upon looking at her, suddenly has all of his hopes crushed, just like that. But he wouldn't give up, not while he still loves her.

* * *

><p>After many days passed, Ash found himself at a dead end after losing against Brandon twice in a row, and so was May, who lost against Solidad in the final round of the Kanto Grand festival. Ash was in a hot spirng, thinking about the phrase Brandon said to him "A battle only you can perform". He thought that it was all May's fault. Upon seeing her blushing from Drew's impressions and roses, his hopes and dreams went down the drain. And so his confidence shrunk into nothingness. He thought she loved Drew. And now, he doesn't know what to do. There were only two things in his mind; the Battle Pyramid, and May.<p>

May was currently in a small contest hall inside the Pokemon Center with her Beautifly and Skitty. She was sitting on the edge of the stage, and her Pokemon went to her

"Beau, beautifly."_ "We should practice, May_" Beautifly said.

"You're right. We should." May said, getting up on her feet.

"Could it be that…" Brock said as he watch her practice again from the entrance of the hall with Scott.

"Yes. Ash's battle with Brandon made her remember her loss at the Grand Festival." Scott said.

"And that her own battle-style is resembling Ash's." Brock added.

"Exactly. The more experienced trainers and coordinators become, the more obstacle they will face.

"Let's test a new combination attack." May said.

"Alright! Skitty, use Blizzard! Beautifly, use Psychic!" May commanded.

They did as they were commanded, but the result wasn't the one expected.

"Oh! It's Beautifly and Skitty!" Max said, entering and walking towards the stage with Ash.

"It's been a long time!" Ash said. Pikachu went and greeted its friends.

"I heard from mom that Beautifly has learned Psychic, so I had it transferred.

"That's so great, sis!" Max said.

"But our combination attack still doesn't work well. What about you, Ash?" May asked. Ash looked down.

"I just can't figure how to battle in my own way." Ash said.

"I see." May said.

"Well then, why don't you have a practice battle together? Isn't that better than just training by yourself?" Max suggested.

"A battle… with Ash? May asked to herself.

"That's a great idea! Let's do it, May!" Ash said.

"We can't!" May said.

"Uh-" Ash said in surprise.

"… I don't think it would be of much help if Ash battled me…" May said.

This got Ash thinking. She didn't decline a battle with him before. Maybe she wants a battle, contest-wise. She might be thinking of Drew.

"Ash!" A voice called out. They turned to see Professor Oak, with a large bag.

"Oh! Professor Oak! Why are you here? Ash said.

"I've came for a cheer-up visit." Oak said.

"A cheer-up visit?" Ash said.

They were back in the Pokemon Center hall to see what's inside Oak's bag.

"Prof, what's in that bag?" Ash said, unable to wait.

"It's a surprise, wait until you see it." Oak said.

The people around were amazed at Oaks appearance, and they took pictures of him.

"When your Pokemon heard that you were having a hard time at the last battle facility, they decided to send a message to cheer you on." Oak said, pulling out a big banner from the bag.

"My Pokemon?" Ash said.

"Yes. It's quite an interesting opus." Oak said, kneeling down and rolling the banner to reveal many foot prints of Ash's Pokemon.

"Whoa. This is… That's great!" Ash said. He pointed out the names of his Pokemon while looking at the foot prints.

"That's cool! You can recognize them at first sight!" Max said.

"These are all my friends, after all." Ash said.

"They made this just for me… and put so much effort into it… Thank you Professor Oak!" Ash said.

"Don't thank me. I just brought this here, that's all." Oak said.

"There's much more here." Oak said, standing up. He pulled out a bento box out of the bag, opened it, and revealed a delicious meal.

"Wow! It looks delicious!" Ash said.

"Your mother has put a lot of love into this lunch, and if you eat this, you'll recover a hundredfold!" Oak said.

"Oh, and I got this for you." Oak said, pulling a lure out of his pocket.

"It's Kasumi's lure!" Ash said, getting the lure.

"The Misty Special, huh?" Brock said.

"That's a funny lure." May said.

"I bet you can fish well with that one." Max said.

"Fishing is a good way to relax when something worries you." Oak said.

"Yes. Thank you very much." Ash said, putting the lure in his pocket.

"And at last, this is a post card Gary sent…" Oak said, pulling it out of his pocket.

"Gary?" Ash said.

"From the Sinnoh Region." Oak said, showing the postcard.

"He's researching many Pokemon there right now." Oak said.

"…Sinnoh Region…" Ash said.

"It's farther north than Kanto. There are many Pokemon that can only be found in that area." Oak said.

"I see… Gary's also doing his best out there…" Ash said. He then pictured him in his mind.

"Pull yourself together, Ash" Gary said.

"G-Gary?" Ash said.

"You have defeated me. Don't tell me you're satisfied with your current losing streak." Gary said.

"I know…" Ash said.

"Are you sure? Then you should start moving forward." Gary said.

"I will win! This time I'll definitely…" Ash said, but didn't continue as he saw Gary walking away.

"I don't have the time to keep you company and just stand there. Hahahaha!" Gary said, out of sight.

In the real world, Ash's hat seems to shadow his eyes.

"Hmm?" Oak said.

"What's wrong, Ash?" May said.

"That's right! I don't have the time to stand still! Alright! I'll show him!" Ash said, doing his usual triumph pose.

"Before you know it, he's in high spirits again." Max said.

"Ah! It's Professor Oak! Will you sign this book with 'for Nurse Joy' please?" Nurse Joy said, coming up to him with her eyes brimming with excitement.

"If it isn't the grand Pokemon Poem Encyclopedia! The first edition too!" Oak said, signing the book.

"We'll show him, Pikachu. This time, we'll definitely win!" Ash said to Pikachi on his shoulders. May looks at Ash, remembering her rival, Drew.

"Rivals, huh?" She said. A Roselia came up to May, which surprised her and the group.

"Isn't this…" May said, kneeling down.

"Hey. I'm surprised to see you here." Drew said, walking up to them. May stands up.

"Drew!" She said.

"Oh my! Are you Drew for real? Could I please, please have an autograph?" Nurse Joy said.

"Hu-Huuhh…" Drew said, sweat-dropping.

Drew and May were in the Contest Hall; May sitting on the edge and Drew tending to Roselia.

"It surprised me. Just when I was thinking about you, you suddenly appeared." May said, seemingly telling that she has feelings for him.

"Thinking… About me?" Drew said, surprised. May then realized what she had said and blushed.

"Th-that's not what I meant!" May said convincingly.

"… Earlier, we were talking about Ash's rivals, and then I thought that my rival would be you…" May said.

"…It's an honor to hear that. So, what have you been doing since then?" Drew said.

"Me?... What about you? What have you been doing?" May said, dodging the question.

"There's only one thing a coordinator defeated in battle should do; working on himself and his Pokemon. Preferrably with a new partner too." Drew said.

"I…" May said.

"…still can't forget about the match with Solidad." Drew completed her sentence. May looked at him with a surprised expression.

"You found your own weakness, but have no idea how to overcome it. Is it something along those lines?" Drew asked, to which May sadly nods.

"Well then, why don't we have a battle? Drew suggested, standing up.

"What? Why are you asking me all of a sudden?" May said.

"Just because. They have such a wonderful stage here, and I still want revenge for that match at the Grand Festival." Drew said.

"But… I…" May said.

"Do it, May!" Ash said, walking up to them with Brock and Max.

"You've been challenged by a rival."Ash said.

"That's right!" Max said.

"Besides, isn't it better to get moving instead of being list in thought?" Brock said.

"O-of course…" May said, and looked up to Drew. They both stared at each other's eyes for a while. May stood up.

"Ok. I'll try! But I won't go easy on you in this battle!" She said.

"I wouldn't want you to, either." Drew said.

"That's the way to go!" Ash said.

"We could ask the professor and Nurse Joy to be the judges!"

Max went to call them, but was stopped at the sight of Contesta, Nurse Joy, and Mr. Sukizo

"Please wait a second!" Nurse Joy said.

"If you're looking for a contest judge, leave it to me, Contesta." Contesta said.

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo said.

"…and me, Nurse Joy!" Nurse Joy said rather weirdly.

"Contesta? Mr. Sukizo? Huh, Nurse Joy?" The three boys said suspiciously.

"Please, start your performance!" The three judges said, going to there places. The group then looked at them with suspicious eyes.

"Somehow, they're acting strangely…" May said.

"Bullet Seed!" A familiar voice said. A Cacturne jumped from behind May and shoot multiple seeds towards the three judges. After the smoke cleared, they've been revealed as Team Rocket.

"Team Rocket!" Ash said.

"I knew you were suspicious!" May said. The Cacturne then went in front of the group, facing the three Rocket grunts. Then, Harley appeared before the three and slammed his hands at the table.

"You three, are you trying to disturb May again?" Harley said.

"Harley?" May said.

"Don't misinterpret this. The only one allowed to make you cry is me!" Harley said, looking back at May.

"I won't let this three get in the way!" Harley said, turning back at the three.

"Let's get out of here!" The three said, beginning to run away, but was stopped by Cacturne blocking the way. They kneeled down, defeated.

"Now, now. You've come al the way here, why not stay a little longer. Especially you, Jessie. Wouldn't be good to watch the battle between those two?" Harley said from behind them.

"Now I see! To win a contest someday, I've got to know about my opponents battling techniques." Jessie said.

"You still haven't given up? Meowth said in surprise.

"Of course not!" Jessie said.

"And with that, we will serve as the audience for today." Harley said, walking up to the group.

"You're just doing this to distract my sister again!" Max said.

"Oh no, I would never do such a thing." Harley said, patting Max's back.

"Not today, anyway." Harley said quietly.

"I'm fine with it, I guess." May said.

Max then went and called Oak, Nurse Joy, and Scott to be the judges of the battle. When the battle was about to start, many spectators entered and watched the battle. The battle went well, but May lost eventually to a now more experienced Drew. She went and thanked her Pokemon for doing a great job. She looked at Drew, who was bowing to the audience, with glassy eyes and smiling. May finally opened her own eyes thanks to him and his Pokemon.

They were on the cliff nearby, with May sitting and Drew standing, resting his arms on the wooden barrier. They were watching the sun set. It was a beautiful sight for them. And, for May, it was also romantic.

"I think that I would've done better if I only stayed focused." May said.

"Yeah, you can't allow yourself to lay back for one moment." Drew said.

"That's right. Maybe I was too relieved when I beat you. It's not right to be satisfied with that if you really want to become a Top-Coordinator. But after today's battle, I've finally realized something." May said, looking up to Drew.

"Once you told me that you want to make your Pokemon shine in a way only you can do it. I also want to find a technique of my own to bring out the beauty of my Pokemon, in a way only I can do it. Even if I can't travel the world…" May said.

"I see." Drew said.

A comfortable silence enveloped their surroundings. The sunset was an absolute beauty to end the day for both of them.

"What are going to do now?" May asked.

"I'm going to Johto to compete in contests there. And Solidad's gonna be there too." Drew said.

"Not to mention Harley…" May said.

"Well, I'll be going now. Thanks for the great battle today, May. See you." Drew said, walking off towards his next destination.

Ever since Drew started to give her roses, he said that it was for her Beautifly, but, at the beginning, she didn't believe him. It was true that they were for May herself. Drew wasn't the type of person to speak out his feelings. It's not his 'style'. But eventually, he will have feelings towards her, or maybe he already did, and then say it in front of her. May, on the otherhand, already fell inlove with someone else before she even met him, but her heart raised her up from Ash and fell for Drew instead. She wasn't sure what she was feeling now. She would have to choosing between Ash and Drew, which is a hard decision for her. May tried everything in her power to choose Ash, but, while thinking back, Ash haven't done anything for her. Drew did, but Ash was always with her, never leaving her side, but still. She was confused. But a thought had crossed her mind; what if Ash doesn't feel the same? That clearly suggests that May should go for Drew instead, and so…

"W-wait!" May said, stopping Drew.

"Hmm?" Drew said.

"Drew… Thanks you also for the battle today…" May said, still constructing the words she had in mind.

"Heh. No problem." Drew said, continue to walk off, until…

"I-I love you!" May finally said the words.

"Huh?" Drew said, looking back at her. He saw her blushing feverishly, and her hands against her heart. It felt to May that a heavy weight had lifted from her chest. But another weight crashed down as she saw Ash, standing a distance away, dumbfounded. He had an expression so unclear that she doesn't know if he's happy for her or not.

"Ash…" May said.

"May… We should go back." Ash said. He looked at Drew one more time, but this time, relaxed.

"You're going to Johto right? Good luck then." Ash said to Drew emotionlessly.

"Thanks, you too." Drew said, and walked away.

May felt guilty. She now knows that Ash had feelings for her, pondering on Ash's expression and voice. He was… somewhat mad, but kept it in place.

During their time left, Ash was a bit cold towards May. She wondered if this was about her sudden confession to Drew. Brock and Max seems to not notice this. Ash was trying his hardest to not stay mad at her. Of course she would choose any guy she likes. He doesn't have any claim over her. She wasn't his girlfriend in the first place. Why would he stay mad at her?

* * *

><p>After Ash had finally won against Brandon, and declined an offer of becoming a frontier brain, they headed for Terracotta Town, and that place would become their last destination together. Everyone has planned to go home soon; May and Max taking a ship to Hoenn, Brock to Pewter City, and Ash to Pallet Town. As the group checked out the town, May finds a sign for a special Pokemon Contest. May signs up for it. Ash shocks everyone by deciding to enter as well since it wasn't an official Contest, meaning he doesn't need a pass.<p>

Nurse Joy was the MC, doing her best Lillian impersonation. May went first, impressing the crowd by having Eevee use Dig and Shadow Ball to create a fireworks display. Ash was equally impressive when Pikachu used Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, and Iron Tail to create electric rings that buzz around the arena. At the end of the first round, May was in first place with Ash a close second, both of them advancing to the finals against each other.

The contest resumed, and Ash and May shook hands and start the battle. When Blaziken dodged all of Sceptile's attacks, Ash started to lose points. He finally connects with Pound, but Blaziken returned with Fire Spin. The two Pokémon begin to lose points at roughly the same rate. Eventually both Pokémon are weakened, and Sceptile's Ability Overgrow kicked in. Blaziken's Ability Blaze also appeared, and the two commence their battle. Eventually Blaziken fires Overheat and Sceptile responds with SolarBeam, with the two attacks colliding. The results of this attack will determine the outcome of the match, but no one can see the scoreboard, now obscured by a thick cloud of smoke.

The smoke was finally cleared, and the winner is revealed—it is a tie between May and Ash! Both are declared the winner with only one prize medal between the two, so Sceptile cuts it neatly in half.

They were enjoying one last meal together at a nearby park near the port. The sun was setting, so May and Max would be aware that they have only have little time left.

"It's done! To celebrate Ash and May's double victory, I have – look at the steam – gone all out on ingredients" Brock said, putting down the delicious and hot soup on the table.

"You sure did! Everything looks tasty!" Max said

"Come on, let's dig in!" Ash said.

"Wait a second." May said, causing everyone to look at her.

"Before that, there's something I want to talk about." May said.

"What is it?" Ash said.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now… I'm going to challenge Pokemon Contests in Johto by myself." May declared. This caused Max to display a shocked expression. Ash had a pretty good idea why she would go there.

"By yourself? What about Max?" Brock said.

"I'm sorry. If you were with me, I think I'd end up relying on you too much." May said to Max, and turning to face everyone.

"When I first met you guys, I didn't really know what to do. But you see…" May said, with a short pause.

"…after traveling with you all, I now know exactly what I want to do. I want to challenge many more Pokemon Contests and discover the charms of Pokemon. And I want to make my Pokemon shine much more!" May declared. Max had a saddened expression.

"I see. I think it's a good idea." Brock said.

"Over there, Solidad and… Drew will be waiting. Oh, and don't forget Harley." Ash said.

"Y-yeah…" May said. Max then walk off his own.

"Max?" May said. Max seems to not hear her.

"Hey, where are you going?" May asked.

"I think Max wanted to continue traveling too. I'm sure." Brock said.

"All right. I'll go talk to him" Ash said, and ran towards Max's direction.

Max sat on a swing. Ash called out to him.

"Max." He said. Max looked up to him.

"Cheer up. May has finally decided on the path she wants to follow, right?

"Pika pika!" _"He's right! _Pikachu said, jumping on Ash's shoulders.

"Of course, it's too bad you can't go with her." Ash said.

"That's not all. Somehow, I've started getting jealous of sis…" Max started.

"While she was battling you earlier, she looked like she was having lots of fun. Seeing that made me wish I could battle like that too already." Max said.

"I see." Ash said.

"And besides, it's really fun when you and sis are together…" Max said.

This made Ash flinched. What did he just say? Does he want Ash and May together? As in… More than friends? Maybe Ash interpreted wrongly, but still.

"Got it! When you become a trainer, the first thing you'll do is to have a battle with me, ok? So as soon as that happens, let me know, huh?" Ash said.

"Me… have a battle with you?" max said. He then stands up on his feet.

"Ok! It's a promise!" Max said excitingly

"Sure. I'm looking forward to it." Ash said.

May and Brock watched the scene from a distance. May thought that Ash was caring. Sure, she thought about him like that from the beginning where Ash wanted to save Pikachu from danger, but she didn't thought he would be as caring as this. She thought that he could be like a brother to Max, but, looking at her and Ash's state, she thought that wouldn't happen. She wanted to though, but it's too late.

Then, the group heard May and Max's boat calling one last time. May looked at the clock, and stated they're gonna miss the boat. Brock packed their food for them to eat while sailing to Hoenn.

Both siblings prepare to board their boat, but before they board, May had something to say for Ash. Since she has little time left, she made it short and understandable.

"Ash… Thank you for everything…" May said.

"Likewise." Ash said with a smile. It seems that Ash forcefully smiled, and May saw that, like a mask hiding its true feelings. She couldn't help but give him a tight hug, and she did.

The sudden action May showed shocked Brock and Max. They watched as they share one last good bye by sharing a hug. Words weren't enough to describe the scene.

Ash assumed this was a gesture of apology from her. Maybe she knew exactly how he felt about her. But she didn't need to apologize for her actions before. Ash then pulled away from her.

"May, your boat's about to leave. You should go…" Ash said, depressed.

"Ash, I'm really sorry *sniff* for everything that I've done to you. You know that I love you. Please tell me you love me too…" May said, her eyes becoming glassy.

"You don't need to apologize. Just go…" Ash said.

"Ash…" May said, her tears started to fall down her cheeks. Ash didn't say he loved her, and he knew that she didn't deserve that.

"May, come on. Let's go." Max said, pulling May towards the boat. May didn't resist.

As they watch the boat set sail, Max and May waved good bye, and so does Brock. Ash only watch them go. He hoped that this is the last time he would see her. She was now the origin of his horrible experience. She broke his heart, and the only way to restore his heart is by having someone else do it, and he hoped that someday he would find that person. He looked at the half-ribbon he shared with May, wondering if he should throw it into the ocean, but he didn't threw it. Instead he kept it as a reminder of what happened to them; two pieces separated, nothing would ever merge them together again, not even a wish.

* * *

><p>"Ash?..." May said, her eyes glassy.<p>

May?..." Ash said, his heart beginning to beat in a rapid rate from dread.

Both trainers were stunned at the sight of each other's presence. Clemont didn't get what was happening in front of him.

May didn't know what to do, and so was Ash.

She was looking for him after she heard news about him becoming Pokemon Master. But, since then, she had no luck finding him. She was worried that he might have been… But that's all in the past now. He was now standing in front of her. She went and hugged him, but he immediately pushed her away.

"Ash… I'm so happy you're ok…" May said.

"May, what are you doing here?" Ash said.

"I competed in a contest here. But nevermind that, I was worried about you. Where have you been?…" May said.

"Well, I'm still alive. And now that you know the truth, I should go. Come on, Clemont." Ash said emotionlessly, beginning to walk away.

"Ash, can we have a talk, please? I know that you're mad at me, but still, you've been in my mind…" May said.

"That wouldn't change anything, to be honest." Ash said emotionlessly.

"Ash, I don't really know what's going on, or what happened between you two, but I think you should give her a chance." Clemont suggested.

"Why should I?" Ash said with a hint of anger.

"Ash. I've been suffering since we parted ways. I've felt guilty for saying those words to someone else and for breaking your trust, but, if you can't forgive me, at least hear me out, please? I'm begging you…" May said.

Ash was having second thoughts. Will he listen to her? Or ignore her? It wouldn't really hurt to hear her stories, would it? Plus, he did say it wouldn't really change anything. He saw her holding the half-ribbon they shared. He wondered what she was doing with it.

"Ok. But make it short." Ash said.

* * *

><p><strong>*Wipes sweat* Well, that was tiring Lol. Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter, and don't forget to review :)<strong>


	5. Blind

**Hiya! I'm back! So, I have nothing to say about this chappy Lol. It's crappy as hell, but I think you might find it otherwise. Anyway, enjoy reading :)**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 5: Blind<strong>_

Ash, May, and Clemont were walking down the streets to go to the nearest Cafe. May said this wouldn't be too short nor too long, much to Ash's anger, but he kept it in. He wouldn't want to stay angry with her. He would not be the Ash that he was known for by his friends. An Ash that was so cheery and determined and always hungry would be replaced by one full of despair and anger. He only wanted to forget her. It's been 11 years since they've parted ways. Ash has been quiet during his adventures, but was muttering little things about his heart-breaking experience. This habit of his disappeared as his childhood friend came in the picture. He had forgotten about his painful experience with May and the Terracotta ribbon they've shared, but it returned to him as he saw her minutes ago. Curse contests here! She wouldn't have been here if it weren't for them!

Pikachu, his best buddy, was on his right shoulder, looking at Ash, then May, then Ash again, then back to May. It was confused as to what was going on. Ash was its best buddy, but it thought he hid some secrets from him.

May was walking beside Ash, but with distance. She didn't want him to be uncomfortable with her near to him. She knew that Ash going to distance himself if she comes near. She still loves him, even today. Ash was in her mind since then. She couldn't help but feel guilty for saying she loves Drew. At that moment of silence, she knew that Ash loved her, just from looking at him. How she wanted to turn back time to not let her mind get the better of her heart. But it's too late now. She broke his heart, and she won't be the one to restore it to the way it was, even if she pour all her love to it.

Other than them was Clemont, walking behind them. He felt the strong tension between them in the air. How he regretted saying Ash should give her a chance. And now, there's a possibility that he would see the anger Ash had built up. He didn't know what was going on between them in the first place, and what happened between them, but he wouldn't want to see the girl distressed. He's not the kind of guy who would ignore someone in that state. But the tension; He thinks that it could explode at any moment, like his inventions in the past, but this time, there would be no puffy hair and messy clothes, instead there would be a destroyed relationship, although he didn't know that their relationship has already been ruined.

"Ummm… How have you been, Ash?" May said, wanting to start a short conversation.

"Fine." Ash said coldly. It was indeed a short conversation.

"Oh…" May sighed. She couldn't get him to try to last the conversation longer. Clemont sweat-dropped from seeing the situation like a bomb squad defusing a bomb which would explode minutes later.

It wouldn't hurt to try to go near him, right? And so May did exactly what her mind thought. Clemont had an expression saying "No! Don't do it!"

She went closer to Ash, which went unnoticed by him as he was looking in front of him. She went closer and closer, her heart starting to beat faster every step she made. Clemont as well. He was about to run away from this bomb. As soon as she went the closest possible, Ash suddenly walked faster than her, distancing himself from her. May sighed in disappointment, and Clemont sighed in relief. But, thanks to May's stubbornness, she wouldn't give up trying to win him back.

They have arrived in Lysandre Café. It was so small, and yet so big, considering there were no customers here. At the moment, they were the first ones here. But it seems a little eerie; the place was all red, and the waiter and waitress are a bit mysterious, but that didn't bother Ash at all, since he was focusing on what May would have to say to him.

Ash sat on a chair, Clemont pulled a chair for May and sat down on his own. The waiter then came up to them to take their orders, May and Clemont ordered something, and so the waiter went away, leaving the three alone for them to discuss.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Clemont said.

An awkward silence enveloped them. It seems as though Clemont wanted to start the conversation instead of them. But the result wasn't what he was expecting. He silently looks on the two trainers; May looking at Ash and Ash looking away.

"Ash, do you still remember that time? When I said those words to someone else?" May asked.

"Yeah, and that made me cringe." Ash said.

"I know…" May said.

"I thought about it for a second. Drew had given me roses that time. And I began to fall for him." May said.

"I've been very confused about our relationship back then; I thought you didn't love me, and I didn't have the confidence to tell you how I felt about you. And so I went with Drew instead, but it seems that was the worst option I took in my life." May continued. Ash's eyes widen slightly.

"What happened?" Clemont asked curiously. Ash got that curious look on his face.

"Well, during the time when I was competing contests in Johto, and after winning one, Drew proposed to me in front of the whole audience, saying I should be his girlfriend, and, of course accepted much to the disappointment of his fan girls." May said.

"We were getting along fine, actually, but since then, he was into his career than me. I don't know why, and that made me frustrated with him; not having enough time with me. I deserved more than that, right?" May said.

"And, it all started…" May said.

* * *

><p>"Time's up!" The referee said.<p>

Drew and Wallace were now exhausted from commanding their Pokemon, with Roserade and Milotic respectively. Their Pokémon looked tired too. They looked at the scoreboard, and saw what many coordinators wanted to see when they were a challenger of the Top Coordinator. Drew's points was barely higher than Wallace's. That means…

"T-the winner is… DREW! This means Drew is now the new Top Coordinator!" The referee said in shock.

Silence enveloped in the stadium. The sudden sight of the scoreboard as well as the announcement of the new Top Coordinator shocked the whole stadium. But then, seconds later, all the audience shouted like there's no tomorrow.

"Drew! What a great battle! Congratulations on winning!" One of the audience said.

"Drew! I'm aiming for you now!" A girl in the audience said.

"What a fantastic battle that was. I was hoping Wallace would win, but alas, the type advantage got the better of him as well as his strategies. Fantastic job, Drew." A man said in the audience.

"DREW! DREW! DREW! DREW! DREW! DREW!" The entire audience cheered for him.

Drew himself couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing. He had just beaten Wallace, the strongest and most elegant coordinator in the world. And now, he was here, standing in the stadium, keeping his hype down because that's not his 'style'. Wallace walked up to him.

"Drew. You have now beaten me, the Top Coordinator. I now leave its post behind for you to stand beside it. You are now… The new Top Coordinator." Wallace said.

"Thanks." Drew said, while being crowned.

"Oh look, the crowd's going to head here. I think I don't want to intrude on your parade, Drew. Thank you for the elegant battle. I look forward to seeing you again someday." Wallace said.

"Milotic, let's go" Wallace commanded.

Milotic created water out of nowhere and surrounded them, and they disappeared after the water went down.

"DREW!" a familiar voice said in the crowd. It was May, running towards him. He looked at her with a warm smile, but he saw behind her the huge crowd, and began outrunning her.

May kept up with her pace, but the crowd beaten her to him.

"E-excuse me." She said.

"Hey! Get in line! It's not your turn!" A girl said.

"Hey, for your information, I'm his girlfriend, and I have the right to-" May said, but was cut off.

"You? His girlfriend? Please. Who would want to date an upside-down-V-haired girl?" The girl said in a sassy tone.

May was about to retort, until she looked on ahead, and she got really angry when girls get their autographs as well as kissing him on the cheek, and Drew doesn't seem to mind at all. And so, she walked out of the stadium back to the hotel where they were staying, frustrated.

She slammed the door to their room and sat in front of the mirror, thinking about their relationship. It seemed to her that this was all pointless in the beginning. Drew was cool and popular, and girls want him. And seeing that scenario in the stadium, it looked like he was cheating on her, and she was about to break down in tears.

Time went by fast, and Drew came in the room at night.

"Hi May. I looked everywhere for you after I've given them autographs. So this was where you've been." Drew said. May was silent for a moment.

"Uh, May, what's wrong?" Drew asked.

"Nothing." May said coldly. She got up the chair and walked into the bathroom to wash up for bed.

A while later, when Drew was sitting on the bed thinking what was wrong with her, a loud knock suddenly was heard on the door, and it began continuously knocking the door. Drew immediately walked up to the door and opened it slightly, but the force coming from outside was too strong for him, and so he was pushed away, letting the fan girls come in.

"Hi Drew!" one of the girls said.

"Wanna have some fun?" another girl said.

"Hey! I came in this room first!" one of the girls said, starting an argument.

"No you didn't!"

"I wanna have fun with him first!"

"You have to go through me first!"

All the girls then stared at each other, and then had an idea, and looked towards Drew, whose expression seems too vague to tell what he was feeling right now.

The girls then began to do… something to Drew, to which Drew seemed to enjoy. His mind shifted from May to the girls who was surrounding him. They were enjoying their time, but all that enjoyment disappeared when May came out the bathroom.

"Huh?! What's going on here?!" May shouted.

"M-May?" Drew said.

"Oh no! It's her! Let's make a run for it!" All the girls said.

The girls then ran out of the room, not wanting to get pummeled by her. May then stared at Drew with eyes glassy.

"W-what were you doing with them?!" Did you just-?!" May said.

"N-no! May, I can explain!" Drew said convincingly, but not enough to convince her.

Silence enveloped the room, with May's expression from anger to calm. She went and began to pack her things, to which Drew knew exactly what her intention was.

"May, I'm sorry that I did that. Can you please forgive me?" Drew said.

"How can I forgive someone who just cheated on me…" May said calmly, holding her tears.

"May, I wasn't cheating on you, I just…" Drew said, thinking about excuses.

"You just what?" May said. Drew was silent for a moment.

"May, can we just forget what happened?" Drew said.

"No, I don't think I would ever forget that." May said.

"I knew from the start that this relationship of ours is pointless. I was so dumb on saying yes to you before. I loved you, and I thought you loved me, but you loved your career and fans more than me. It was my fault that I got hurt. Saying yes to that question of yours was the biggest mistake of my life, and to think you did that with others in front of me…" May said.

Drew was quiet. His career blinded him from his relationship. He didn't think his career and fans would pull him from May. He was now guilty for not even pushing himself towards her.

"May, I'm sorry…" Drew said.

"No, I'm sorry I let this happened between us." May said, breaking down in tears. She wanted all the burden to herself. She didn't want to blame him. She wasn't that kind of girl who would blame someone, even if he was the one who did it.

"May, please stay with me." Drew said.

"I don't wa- Mmph!" May was cut off by Drew's lips on hers. Her mind went blank for a second, and she seemed to return it. It lasted for a short while until May had come into realization, and pulled herself from Drew.

"Drew! So that's the only thing you've been after from me this whole time?!" May said.

"N-no! That's not it!" Drew said.

"I've had enough of you. I'm through!" May said, running pass the door with her bags, with tears running down on her cheeks.

May ran aimlessly on the streets. She didn't know what to do nor where to go. She just wanted to go away from Drew, who had broken her heart. She wanted someone who was trustworthy, someone who would not break her heart, someone… someone to love her truly and for her to love him back. She then thought of Ash. How she wanted to relive that time; that time when she and Drew were parting ways in Johto, and for her to prevent those words from coming out of her mouth. If those didn't actually came out, she would be with Ash now. But for now, she just wanted to go away from that horrible relationship she just had with Drew.

* * *

><p>"And that's what happened." May said.<p>

Ash and Clemont couldn't help but feel sorry for her. It seemed that Drew wasn't trustworthy as Ash thought of. She didn't deserve that kind of guy. The waiter then came back with their food, put them on the table, and went away.

"I'm sorry that happened to you. You must have gone through a lot." Clemont said.

"It's ok. I just realized popularity could blind you." May said.

"And that's why I disappeared." Ash said, with Clemont's and May's eyes widen.

"Come to think of it, where have you been all this time?" May asked.

"I was training somewhere isolated, that's all." Ash said.

Ash stared at May. He thought that she deserved that her heart was broken by Drew just like she did with his, but he could help but feel empathy. He wasn't that cold to just feel triumph, even though he didn't expect it.

"Well, let's dig in." Clemont said.

He and May were eating, and Ash was just watching, not hungry at all. He watched as May plays with her food. It seems she wasn't hungry too. Who would be after telling him that terrible experience?

They had small talks, like Clemont's exploding inventions before, which caused May to giggle at his stories. Ash felt happy when he saw her giggle for the first time since he saw her like that. It seemed that his bitterness towards her had evaporated. And then he just realized now, he was wasting time. His only purpose here was to search for Serena. And so, he got up to his feet.

"I have to go now. I have something to do." Ash said.

"What are you gonna do?" May asked.

"Just gonna look for clues." Ash said.

"Clues for what?" May asked. It looks like she's beginning to be nosy.

"It's none of your business." Ash said.

"I-I'm sorry…" May said. Ash felt guilty for being too harsh.

"It's ok." Ash said. He walked out of the café, leaving the two to their own.

After they've finished their food, Clemont paid the bill.

"So, shall we?" He said.

"Where to?" May said.

"Everywhere you want. I could give you a tour of you want." Clemont insisted.

"Thank you. I'm new to this city, after all." May said. They both walked out of the café.

As soon as they were out of sight, both the waiter and waitress had an evil look on their faces.

"So, he's here. Time to pay him back for what he did to us." The waiter said.

* * *

><p>Ash was walking aimlessly on the sidewalk, not knowing where to start. The city was so large, he could start from anywhere. After hours of looking for clues, he had no luck finding even one. He then walked towards the park where he could rest for a bit. As he was about to enter the park, he saw who it seemed to be the one he was looking for. He was stunned at the moment of sight.<p>

"Gardevoir, Tele-" Serena said, but didn't continue as she saw the boy of her dreams.

"S-Serena? Is that really you?" Ash asked.

"Ash? Ash!" Serena said, broke her grip from her bags, and ran towards him and tackled him in a bear hug. Ash immediately returned it.

They were happy to see each other again after all these years. Serena felt like this wasn't reality, and so,

"Can you pinch me on the cheek, Ash?" Serena said.

"Wha-what for?" Ash said.

"Just do it." Serena said, and he did it softly. She felt a little pain, and realizes it was reality.

"Oh my Arceus. It's real! He's really in front of me!" She thought, and tears began to from in her blue orbs.

"What's wrong? I didn't pinch too hard, did I?" Ash said, beginning to panic.

"No, it's just…" Serena said, wiping her tears.

"It's just, I'm happy that you came back for me. You kept your promise…" Serena said.

"Hehe, no problem." Ash said, scratching his cheek.

"Gardevoir gardevoir? _"M'lady, shall we go now? The others are waiting for us."_ Gardevoir said.

"Of course! Ash, you can come with us!" Serena said.

"Me? Where?" Ash asked.

"You'll see." Serena said, taking his hand and walked towards Gardevoir. The white bipedal then gathered its Psycic powers to teleport them to their destination.

* * *

><p><strong>Ahh... So crappy... I'm so sorry haha. But anyway, trouble will come their way as this fic progresses. Well, stay tuned for the next chappy and don't forget to review :)<strong>


	6. Reunited

**Hiya! I'm back! I'm really sorry about the late update. My creativity just went down many levels last week. Plus, I got bombarded with tons of school work. Anyway, here's the new chappy. Enjoy reading :)**

**EDIT: I have forgotten about one aspect of this fic, and I just currently included it in here, thus editing this chapter. You can read it again if you like. It's not something major, but a little essential. **

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 6: Reunited<strong>_

*pant pant* "H-hey! Wait up!" Clemont said, barely catching up to now very cheery May.

He didn't know what caused her to feel this way though. All he did was show her around town. What he didn't get was her lines before, saying that this city is so large and so beautiful. It's because of Clemont complimenting his hometown. After May suddenly sprinted to see more of the city, they were shouting at each other. They were so loud that every citizen they pass by was looking at them with an awkward look. Some even assumed they were a weird couple. Only a few knew Clemont, and thought that it was great for him that he got a girlfriend, which was supposedly hoped by Bonnie that he will eventually get one or she will get him one herself. They were not familiar with May though since contests were introduced in Kalos a month ago.

May turned around, sweat-dropped and said, "Oops, sorry, Clemont! I'm just really excited to see more of this city! And I'm still hungry! C'mon!", and began sprinting from him.

"M-May, Can we just walk?! I'm the tour guide, remember?!" Clemont said, but since May was already too far away, she couldn't hear him.

"Ohh May, what am I going to do with you?" Clemont said, and began to worry about her if she get lost in the city. He began running tiredly after her.

May was running aimlessly, seeing the views from all angles; large buildings, restaurants, the Prism Tower, even some Trainers' Furfrou.

As she passed by a river, she saw two Luvediscs jumped from the water, and began dancing in the air before descending to the water. She remembered the Luvdiscs she saw with Ash when they were in duty of protecting Manaphy. How she wanted to relive those moments under the sea; swimming with various Water-Type Pokemon and Ash.

Then she just realized something; Manaphy was the prince of the sea and was like child to her, so that makes her a mother. And Ash; he accidentally claimed the Sea Crown back in the Sea Temple, which granted him the ability to breath under water and swim through it rapidly. If Ash is the King of the Sea, Manaphy is the prince and May is basically its mother then... The royal family of the sea… She then felt intense redness take over her cheeks from that silly thought. But she shook it off of her mind. It was a good imagination though.

As soon as she turned right from a corner, she saw what she didn't liked to see in her life, even if it's the last thing she would see, and regretted turning right instead of left. All her cheery feeling has evaporated in just a single glance. Her heart began beating from dread and anger, her hands and legs shaking, her eyes glassy.

She saw Ash hugging a girl. She looked closely and saw that it was the girl she met before. It was Serena! Her face was now red from anger. Damn her… How could she take her Ash away from her (Even though she's the one who left him hanging)?! Does she love him or what? But wait, does Ash love her too? No! That's not true! No no no no! Not in May's life!

She then get a Pokeball from her belt and began rushing towards them, only to see them disappearing into nothingness, not even noticing her.

She stands there, her right hand holding her Pokeball tightly, and the other balled up into a fist. Time somehow felt going very slow. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. She did not like this one bit, as she only wanted this feeling of her heart break into tiny pieces vanish immedtiately. But no. She had to endure it. But can she endure it for long?

"Damn her… How could you? I'll get you… Just you wait…" May promised to herself. Her heart and mind was now full of revenge. She wouldn't let her get away with this, not when she stole Ash away from her when she was planning to get back with him.

A mysterious man wearing a coat and red goggles watched the scene with a smile on his face, and walked away in the dark corners of the buildings shortly after.

"Hehehe… Don't worry. You will get her…" The man said.

* * *

><p>*swish*<p>

Gardevoir and the two childhood friends was standing in front of the late Maple's house. Ash didn't quite remember the place at first glance, until he saw a Mawile planting the flowers surrounding the home.

"Thanks, Gardevoir. You were a great help." Serena said.

"Garde gardevoir." _"My pleasure, m'lady.__"_ Gardevoir said. Serena called back Gardevoir to its Pokeball.

"Wow… I haven't been here since Korrina and Lucario's training. Ahh memories…" Ash said. He then felt a fresh breeze gently hitting him. He looked around the area; trees are swaying, leaves and flowers are dancing elegantly, everything around him is nature itself, and indeed it is beatiful. No words are needed to compliment the beauty of nature, because anyone who is witnessing this will be speechless, no matter who or what. He then saw Serena's honey-blonde hair flowing naturally in the air like he imagined back in Mt. Silver. Looks like Serena is nature in Ash's eyes. And, just as he thought, he is speechless upon seeing her. But nonetheless, he loved the view.

Serena then saw him staring at her, and began blushing a little.

"Wha-what are you staring at for?" Serena asked, feeling embarrassed.

"Oh! N-nothing." Ash said, breaking free from the trance.

The Mawile walked towards them and greeted both of them. Serena then remembered telling it her stories about how she met Ash. Pikachu greeted Mawile and greeted back.

"Mawile mawile maw maw-" _"Nice to see you again, Ash! I heard a lot of stories about you from Serena. She told me that-" _Mawile was cut of by Serena sending it back into its Pokeball but was shortly released after.

Mawile smiled slyly at Serena, and began giggling a little. Serena then had an expression saying 'Don't say those to him!'

"Hehe, sorry 'bout that! Oh, by the way, this is Mawile. Do you remember back when we stayed here with Maple? This was originally hers. It decided to become my Pokemon after I went here." Serena said.

"Wow, it did? That's the first time a Pokemon decided to stay with you! But wait, where's Maple?" Ash asked.

Serena didn't answer that, as she only stared at him, then at the ground, and then at the sky above them with somewhat glassy eyes and a sad expression. Ash already got the idea, and he felt sad about it. Pikachu also sensed this, and felt sad.

"She…" Serena began.

"I know… You don't need to say it…" Ash said sadly. It is indeed inevitable for people with old age to pass away anytime. But Maple lived a happy life; a life only loving the beauty of nature, and nothing more. It was enough for Maple to be happy.

"Well, we can't let that depress us, right? We just got reunited, after all." Ash added, beaming a smile. Serena loved that smile of his. It seems to make her worries vanish just by looking at that warm smile. And that alone makes her love him more.

"You're right." Serena said, smiling back. "Anyway, let's get inside. You must be hungry. I'll make something for you." She added.

"Oh. Don't, I'm not-" Ash began, until he heard his stomach call for food. He didn't plan to eat at the café earlier as he wasn't really hungry at all then. But now his glutton came back at the right time as he remembered Serena can cook magnificently.

"N-nevermind. I'll take the offer." Ash said, scratching his cheek.

Serena giggled at the sound of his stomach asking for food. They went inside.

As the door opened, they saw Braixen playing with a Yancham. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulders and went and engaged in a Pokemon conversation between the three.

"Anyway, I'll make some food right away. Make yourself at home, Ash." Serena said, and went into the kitchen.

Ash looked around the house. It was nostalgic for him to be here again. It felt more nostalgic as he saw the flowers Serena arranged back in those days still standing at its large rectangular pot. To his surprise, it was beside the flowers he arranged. He remembered how she had enough of arranging flowers when they had to stay here. He had the urge to tell her his trademark quote 'Never give up until the end!' Although he didn't proceed to tell her since she was really tired back then. He didn't want her to get too tired, did he? That's how he cares about her. He would temporarily give up motivating her to avoid unneeded stress to unnecessary activities.

He walked up the stairs, went outside and onto the balcony. His breath was taken away from the sight that was in front of him. There were utterly no words for Ash to say to descirbe nature's beauty. All he can say was 'Great job, Maple', but he feels that those words weren't enough to compliment Maple's hard work.

It was already 30 minutes since he went onto the balcony, still looking at the view.

He heard the door opened, and came out Serena. He knew it was her, but he didn't look back.

"Food's ready. Let's eat." Serena said.

"I'll be there at the moment. I'm taking my time admiring this beautiful view here." Ash said. Serena then walked up beside him and the sight also took her breath away.

"Oh, it's so beautiful…" Serena said. She is completely speechless, but trying hard to come up with a compliment. This was her first time coming onto the balcony. She didn't have the chance back then.

"I know right?-" Ash said, and then thought of a pick-up line. "-Just… like you…" He added.

Serena could've been mistaken for a Flareon since her face was totally red from the sudden compliment from Ash.

"Did he just said that? Is he telling the truth? But he's not the type of guy who would tell a lie, so I'll take it as a truth then. What's this? I suddenly had the urge to kiss him now! Don't go there yet, Serena! You and he are not yet together! But I want to! No no no no!" Serena thought.

"Something troubling you?" Ash asked as he saw Serena's uncomfortable expression.

"Uhhh-Nothing!" Serena said, keeping it cool.

"Hehe. Say, why don't we go down now and eat now?" Ash suggested.

"That'll be great." Serena said.

They went downstairs and sit beside the dining table, with food sitting in front of them. Pikachu and the others went and sit as well. Ash and Serena called their other Pokemon in their roster.

Ash called out Charizard, Lucario, Sceptile, Absol, and Dragonite.

Serena called out Sylveon, Delcatty, Butterfree, and Gardevoir

All their Pokemon greeted each other. Charizard and Gardevoir seemed to get along well. Dragonite and Absol greeted Braixen and Yancham. Sceptile and Butterfree did the same.

Sylveon as well as Delcatty fell in love with Lucario at first sight, which resulted in the two pink Pokemon bickering. Lucario stopped them, which caused the two pink Pokemon to fall harder in love with it because of its gentle-Pokemonly approach. Fighting- and Steel-Type Pokemon are indeed a weakness against Normal- and Fairy-Types respectively.

After their greetings with each other, they proceed in eating Serena's Pokemon food as well as some deserts, PokePuffs.

Ash and Serena talked while eating. This was the perfect moment for Ash to ask Serena something that got him curious.

"Your mother is worried about you, Serena. Why haven't you come back home yet?" Ash said.

Serena looked at Ash with sincere eyes, and said, "You know why..."

"I do know. I just wanted to make sure." Ash said.

"Well, being well-known by the people kinda pisses me off, you know?" Serena began.

"After I became Kalos Queen, those news reporters started to throw stressful questions at me. Some even asked some questions that were already asked before. I didn't bother answering them after a day, and so I wandered on my own, sneaking pass their line of sight. I didn't want them to know where I am. That's why I couldn't go home. They knew where I lived. I wanted to see my mother again. If only I didn't become Kalos Queen... I would have been home right now... I really regret having to be crowned..." Serena said. Some tears already formed in her eyes from those emotional experiences. Ash couldn't bear to see his friend in distressed

"Don't feel regret. You've achieved your dream, right? And sometimes, you gotta make sacrifices. And there will come a time when life will give you something in return." Ash said reassuringly with a smile.

"I know. Life's gift is already in front of me... And to be honest, I really love the gift..." Serena said, blushing madly. Ash didn't get it at first, but soon was red as a tomato.

They have talked about their other experiences when they were away. It was a big surprise for Serena that Ash's table manners turned for the better. She knew he is a glutton, but she never thought that he can classily eat. But that changed immediately as she witnessed Ash's hunger came out; he ate every piece of food on his plate in an instant. Well, that's Ash for you.

Night falls, and came the time to sleep. They decided that their Pokemon should be kept outside of their Pokeball for the night. Charizard decided that it will be outside of the house, on guard.

"We should sleep now. It's getting late." Ash said, getting up on his chair.

"I guess so, but where will you sleep then?" Serena said. She was secretly hoping that he will decide to sleep beside her on the bed. Why not?

"Well, I guess I'm gonna be sleeping on the couch." Ash said. Serena's head hung low.

"Wha-what's wrong?" Ash said.

"Nothing. I'll better go upstairs now. Good night, Ash." Serena said, getting up on her chair and proceeded going up to her room.

"Night." Ash said, and went to the couch and lied down for a moment, and then instantly went asleep.

Serena was in her room, not in Maple's. That's where Mawile will sleep. She then dressed to her night gown and went to sleep.

An hour later, a loud thud was heard upstairs, enough to wake Ash up. He sprinted upstairs and went to Serena's room. When he got there, he turned on the lights and found Serena on the floor.

"What are you doing on the floor? Did something happened?" Ash said.

"I… I had a nightmare, that's all." Serena said, getting back on her feet and lied down on her bed once again.

"Oh. Well, I'll be on my way downstairs." Ash said, walking out of the room until…

"Ash…" Serena said.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"Could you… you know… sleep with me… just for the night?" Serena said, hiding her intense blush behind her pillow.

Ash's heart started beating in a rapid pace. "Did she just asked that? To sleep with her for the night?... Is it ok? No no no! Don't go there, Ash! Being 18 or above doesn't mean you get to experience that! C'mon! Pull yourself together!" Ash thought.

"Umm… Ash?" Serena said, breaking Ash free from his thoughts.

"Uhh, why did you ask? Is it because of the nightmare?" Ash asked.

"You… could say that…" Serena said.

"Well, ok then. But just for the night. I don't really want to invade your privacy." Ash said, and just realized what he just said, and felt the red take over his cheeks in embarrassment.

"Hehe, that's ok. Really." Serena said convincingly.

Ash turned off the lights then went beside her on the bed and lied down, facing away from her.

Another hour passed by, and they couldn't sleep, and they didn't know why. Maybe because they were beside each other on the bed? It was just for the night, right?

Ash and Serena were facing away from each other.

"Ash?" Serena asked.

"What?" Ash said, cleary still have energy to engage on a conversation.

"I'm really glad that you came back for me. Thank you…" Serena said, turning to face him. Ash turned to face her too.

"No problem! I'm always keeping in touch with my friends." Ash said, beaming a smie.

Serena then felt the urge to lay her head on his chest, which she did. Their faces was really red at the moment.

"Uh, Serena?" Ash said.

"Let's go to sleep, Ash." Serena said, and looked up to Ash's face and planted a quick kiss on his cheek, and immediately buried her face back on his chest.

"Wha-what was that for?" Ash said, his face like a tomato.

"Ash, I'm trying to sleep." Serena said with an innocent voice.

Ash was quiet for a moment, and wrapped his arms around Serena. A truly perfect moment to end the night of awkwardness.

"Teehee. Mission accomplished." Serena thought, and drifted into slumber.

* * *

><p>May was sitting on a bench at the park in Lumious City at night. The stars are not seen tonight due to the thick clouds that hover in the air. All lights are off, except for the post in the park. The darkness wasn't bothering May, since her mind was now full of dark thoughts.<p>

She was planning her revenge on Serena whom she just met this day. A Pokemon battle that will determine who will get Ash is a good plan! This was the perfect plan, since Tripokalons don't involve Pokemon battles. That makes Serena an inexperienced trainer in battling.

A man wearing a coat and red goggles came up to her from the shadows that surround the area.

"You are May, correct?" The man said.

"What do you want?" May said irritatingly.

"Would you like me to help you with your problem?" The man asked.

"How can a man who I've just met help me, huh? I don't have time for you!" May, annoyed of this man's mysterious and suspicious questions, stood up and held out a Pokeball.

"My my, aren't you a little impatient?" The man said calmly.

"Indeed I am! Blaziken, get this man out of my sight at once!" May said, throwing the Pokeball in the air. A red light came out of the Pokeball, and materialized into a large bipedal, chicken-like Pokemon.

"Blaziken…" _"Yes, mistress…" _Blaziken said.

"Looks like you'll take it the hard way, eh? Malamar, come down." The man said.

A dark-purple, squid-like Pokemon came down from the heavens and stood in front of the man.

"Hypnosis." The man commanded.

Malamar shined a very bright light over the Blaziken. The chicken Pokemon tried to resist the hypnosis, but to no avail, and so it was now possessed. It then faced May, with red eye that seemed to void of May's voice.

"No! Blaziken, snap out of it!" May commanded, but Blaziken didn't hear her.

"Now, Malamar, you know what to do…" The man said.

Malamar then shined another bright light over May. May then closed her eyes the second she saw the light. But, upon seeing the light, she was already possessed. Her eyes turned red, void of anything other than the man's voice.

"Excellent." The man said. The man then took Blaziken's Pokeball and called Blaziken back to its Pokeball.

"Come with me, May. I'd like you to be my next experiment; an experiment that will throw that so-called Pokemon Master into oblivion. Hehehe..." The man said.

"Yes, Xerosic..." May said emotionlessly.

As they exit the park, Clemont entered the park, still searching for May. He was looking for her all day. It was her fault that she sprinted from her tour guide in the first place.

"Oh, May, where are you?" Clemont said to himself. He is now really worried about her. For starters, she didn't know the place.

"Ah forget it. I'm gonna go ba-" Clemont said, but saw a faint, sparkling light on the ground beside the bench. He went up to it, crouch down and picked up the item.

"A half-ribbon?" Clemont said.

* * *

><p><strong>Meh. Not much to say about this chappy. Anyway, an announcement; I'm gonna take my time on writing my next chappy onwards. It will cause an update delay, but you will recieve a longer, higher-quality chapter. And before I end this note, I'm gonna take my time and reply to a review.<strong>

"i have had enough of your anti amourshipping nonsense

You should know that your anti amourshipping comments are getting on everyones nevers on the serebii amourshipping thread. if you think serena's crush will sink, then you're not a supporter of the ship. your anti shipping theories sucks. keep your lame-ass anti amourshipping posts to yourself. now read this and delete this asap."

**Lol! Looks like someone took my comments way too seriously, eh? Well, let's begin;**

***Retort mode on* First of all, you could have just read the whole conversation on the thread to see the reason behind my pessimism. But I'll tell you here anyway so that you won't have to waste time reading it there.**

** The reason I was pessimistic about this ship was to make the thread really active, and indeed it did. Negative comments about it gets more attention than positive ones. And it causes arguments; idea's are flying everywhere. And anyone can catch those ideas anytime. And I've only found those negative aspects of this ship and posted it to see if anyone is capable of throwing an idea at it that can make it neutral or positive. Just like math for example; -2 + 8 = 6.**

**But anyway, if I was not a supporter of the ship, like you said I was, thus being an anti-amourshipper, why would I write a fanfic about it then? And no, you can't tell me what to do. I won't delete your review. You could have just posted it on the thread, but no, you decided to post it here. And with that, I'd like everyone to see how dumbass you are to be reviewing my comments on the thread instead of this fic. Don't worry, I'll delete it when I feel it. Oh, and good day :)**

***Retort mode off*** **Stay tuned for the next chappy and don't forget to review THIS FIC :)**


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